Hong Kong’s High Court readies ruling in first national security trial

Three judges will on Tuesday afternoon decide whether Leon Tong is guilty of secession and terrorism

The ruling will be the first major interpretation by the courts of the controversial law imposed by Beijing

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Defendant Leon Tong at the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre in August last year. Photo: Handout

Published: 9:00am, 27 Jul 2021Updated: 9:00am, 27 Jul 2021

Hong Kong’s High Court will hand down a verdict in the city’s first trial over national security law offences on Tuesday afternoon, shedding light on how the judicial system will handle prosecutions under the controversial legislation.

But the extent of the ruling’s impact remains unclear. A lower court judge adjourned the trial of a similar case on Monday after deciding to wait for the coming verdict, saying he was unsure how closely he would have to fully adhere to it.

The High Court ruling, slated for 3pm, will conclude the three-week trial at the Court of First Instance of Leon Tong Ying-kit on charges of secession and terrorism. Tong allegedly rammed his motorcycle into three police officers while flying a flag bearing a protest slogan on July 1 last year, the day after the security law took effect.

Leon Tong stands accused of terrorism after his motorbike drove into three police officers last year. Photo: Cable TV

All eyes are on how the three-judge panel, composed of jurists from a list hand-picked by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, will apply the Beijing-imposed legislation and determine the fate of the 24-year-old in place of a jury. The defendant faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Defence counsel Clive Grossman SC had conceded Tong might well be convicted of careless driving but that was in “no way near” what anyone would consider an act of terrorism.

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